Real IRA threatens to attack British bankers

The dissident republican terrorist group labelled bankers as "criminals" and as the "next door neighbours of the politicians". In an interview with The Guardian the Real IRA said: "We have a track record of attacking high-profile economic targets and financial institutions such as the City of London. The role of bankers and the institutions they serve in financing Britain's colonial and capitalist system has not gone unnoticed."

In a series of written answers the group tried to tap into public hostility towards financiers since the economic downturn. They added: "Let's not forget that the bankers are the next-door neighbours of the politicians. Most people can see the picture: the bankers grease the politicians' palms, the politicians bail out the bankers with public funds, the bankers pay themselves fat bonuses and loan the money back to the public with interest.

It's essentially a crime spree that benefits a social elite at the expense of many millions of victims." However, security experts have doubted whether the group, which has only 100 activists, has the resources to carry out its threats.